Japan

For much of Japan's history, CLANS fought each other for land and power.

What is a clan?

A clan is a group of families who claim a common ancestor.

Jimmu Tenno

• 1st Japanese Emperor
• Divine - descended from the sun-goddess
• Conquered rival clans in Kyushu & Honshu
• Established the state on the Yamato Plain

Succeeding Periods

• Yamato c. 300-720 CE
• Nara 710-795 CE
• Fujiwara/Heian 794-1185 CE
• Minamoto/Kamakura 1185-1333 CE
• Ashikaga/Muromachi 1333-1568 CE

The Yamato Period

• Circa 300-720 CE
• Unified Japan was establsihed
• Sent troops to the Koguryo Dynasty of Korea (369)
• Established a base or colony in Southern Korea
• Chinese influence entered Japan through Korea

The Yamato Period

• Weavers, blacksmiths, artisans
• Agriculture & irrigation experts
• Confucian scholars and Buddhist Monk
• Sons of nobility were sent to China to study
• They witnessed Tang Dynasty's efficiency

The Yamato Period - Taika Reform

• Written
• Criminal & Administrative codes
• Imitated the Chinese code
• Modified to suit their needs

The Yamato Period - Taika Reform

• Emperor - absolute monarch
• Head of government & high priest
• Government workers had to take an exam
• Lands were divided with an official assigned
• Social classes - slaves and free men

The Nara Period

• 710-794 CE
• Taika Reforms worked well
• The capital was moved to Nara
• Greatest contribution was cultural
• Buddhism was encouraged

The Nara Period

• Each province was required to have a monastery
• The Daibutsu (53 1/2 ft) was built in Nara
• Japanese students were still sent to China
• Borrowing from Chinese culture was the fashion
• Awareness of what is Japanese is gaining attention

The Nara Period

• Kaifuso - collection of Chinese poems by Japanese poets
• Nihonji and Kojiki - compilation of Japanese history
• Manyoshu - collection of Japanese native poetry
• Katakana - system of Japanese writing

QUIZ

1. What is a clan?

2. Who is Jimmu Tenno and why was he believed to be divine?

3. How did Chinese influence reach Japan?

4. How did Confucianism and Buddhism reach Japan?

5. How did Japan come to know of Tang Dynasty and its power and efficiency?

6. What were the similarities between the Tang Administration of China and the Yamato Administration of Japan?

7. What were some of the contributions of the Nara Period in Japanese history?

8. How did Buddhism influence Japan during the Nara Period?

9. Despite the outside influence, what are some evidences that Japan began to value their own culture during the Nara period?

Heian Period

• aka Fujiwara Period
• 794-1185 CE
• Capital was moved to Heian
• Heian is present-day Kyoto
• To avoid influence of Buddhist monks

Untitled Slide

Heian Period - Fujiwara Clan

• Cultural borrowings from China continued
• Centralization of state power continued
• But there's a rise of influence by the Fujiwara clan
• Fujiwara Kamatari -regent of a young emperor
• What is a REGENT?

Heian Period - Feudal Estates

• Regency of the Fujiwara clan favored aristocrats
• What are ARISTOCRATS?
• Land was distributed to the noble blood line.
• The land became HAN or feudal estates.
• The aristocrat became DAIMYO or feudal lord.

Heian Period - Culture

• Increasing manifestation of Japanese culture
• Japanese scholars still go to China
• But poetry, short stories and novels were
• written in Japanese using KATAKANA
• MAINLY BASED ON ARISTOCRATIC CULTURE

Untitled Slide

Heian Period - Culture

• Increasing manifestation of Japanese culture
• Japanese scholars still go to China
• But poetry, short stories and novels were
• written in Japanese using KATAKANA
• MAINLY BASED ON ARISTOCRATIC CULTURE

Quiz

1. Why was the capital of Japan moved to Heian during the Fujiwara period?

2. What were the 2 things that continued before Fujiwara rises in influence?

3. Who is Fujiwara Kamatari and how did he overshadow the power of the emperor?

4. Explain the role of a regent and how Fujiwara took advantage of being one.

5. Explain how Fujiwara favored aristocrats and define who they are.

6. Explain how Fujiwara favored aristocrats and define who they are.

7. Explain how the lands and aristocrats became feudal.

8. Describe the culture during the Heian period.

Fall of the Heian Period

• Wars among daimyo increased
• Private armies of "bushi" & "samurai"
• "Bushido" or the Code of Honor
• Excessive luxury caused widespread dissatisfaction
• Minamoto Yoritomo defeated the imperial forces

Bushido/Code of Honor

• Tradition that guided the samurai culture
• Loyalty, honor & courage are important
• Sword fighting, archery & horseback riding
• "seppuku" or "harakiri" - honorable suicide
• The supreme obligation of the samurai is to his lord

Military Governments

• "bakufu" or shogunate ruled Japan
• shogun - great general of the state
• Minamoto or Kamakura
• Ashikaga or Muromachi
• Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1868)

Shogun vs. Emperor

• Shogun administered the military government
• Shogun possessed real political power
• Shogun has authority over daimyo
• Emperor remained a symbol of Japanese unity
• Emperor represents the son-goddess Amaterasu

Kamakura Period

• aka Minamoto Period
• 1185 to 1333 CE
• 1st shogunate of Japan
• Built a new city - Kamakura
• City was center of military government

Kamakura -Yoritomo

• He confiscated the lands of rival clans
• Distributed these lands among his followers
• Appointed military governeors for each province
• They collected taxes, supervised lands,
• They maintained peace & order, controlled criminals

Kamakura

• Feudal system prevailed
• Elites were the bushi & samurai
• Daimyo retained its samurai
• Daimyo had control over its han (fief)
• Daimyo had to pledge its allegiance to the shogun

Kamakura vs Mongols

• Mongols tried to invade Japan twice
• Assisted by Korean & Chinese vassals
• Failed in both attempts due to strong typhooons
• Believed to be sent by the kami (spirits)
• Kamikaze -divine wind

QUIZ

Untitled Slide

Fall of the Kamakura Period

• Marked by chaos
• Power struggle between the shogun & emperors
• Fights between warring families and provincial lords

Muromachi Period

• 1333-1568 CE
• aka Ashikaga Period
• Capital was moved to Muromachi, Kyoto
• Ashikaga strengthened his hold on the govt..

Muromachi Period - Ashikaga

• The Ashikaga clan is a warrior family
• Prominent in Japanese society
• They trace their ancestry back to Minamoto
• Ashikaga Takauji is the 1st shogun of the period

Muromachi Period - Developments

• The government exchange goods with China
• Additional taxes were imposed on people
• Built more irrigation canals
• Growth in agriculture
• Kyoto and Nara Cities were established

Muromachi Period - Developments

• Artisans organized themselves into guilds
• Larger temples were constructed
• Areas near sea ports became centers of trade
• Townsmen, elders & varied manufacturers were elected
• Financial progress meant independence for farmers & traders

Muromachi Period - Developments

• Europeans first arrived in Japan - the Portuguese
• St. Francis Xavier preached Catholicism for 2 years
• Christianity Spread hand in hand with trade & commerce
• Buddhist sects continued to multiply
• Shintoism became more visible

Shintoism

• Indegenous to Japan
• Shinto means the way of the kami
• The Japanese see the kami in nature
• They are the rulers of seas & mountains
• Kami is in great men - ideas, creation

Shintoism

• Kami has a divine personality
• It responds to truthful prayers
• Reveals truthfulness to followers
• All dieties cooperate with one another
• Purity of heart, sincerity and uprightness

Shintoism

• It is important to aspire for magkoro
• Magkoro - bright, pure, upright & sincere mind
• When a person does his best in his chosen work
• When a person has harmonious relationships w/ others
• Divination, water & ceremonial purification are observed

Shintoism

• People don't have a religious service
• They visit shrines at their own convenience
• A traditional Japanese house has 2 altars
• A Shinto altar for their kami and Amaterasu
• A Buddhist altar for the family ancestors

Muromachi Period - Developments

• Shinto scholars freed the temples from Buddhist monks
• The Noh drama became popular
• Originally performed for agricultural festivals, funerals, etc.
• Monochrome paintings, tea drinking, flower arrangement
• Pottery, creation of gardens as retreat areas from the world

Muromachi Period -FALL

• Ashikaga shoguns failed to keep their power
• Many daimyos still continued to fight among themselves
• Ended in a civil war in 1573

QUIZ

1. How did the Kamakura Period fall?

2. Why is the period after Kamakura called Ashikaga and Muromachi period?

3. Describe the Ashikaga clan.

4. Who is Ashikaga Takauji?

5. Describe the economic developments during the Ashikaga period.

6. Describe the agricultural developments during the Ashikaga period.

7. Describe the cultural developments during the Ashikaga period.

8. Describe the social developments during the Ashikaga period.

9. Describe the political developments during the Ashikaga period.

10. Describe shintoism.

11. What is kami?

12. What is magkoro?

Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa - Overview

• 1603-1867
• aka Edo (present day Tokyo)
• 250 yrs of peace & prosperity
• Rise of a new merchant class
• Increasing urbanization

Tokugawa - Overview

• Closed off from Western influences
• Overthrown by the "Meiji Restoration"
• Preceded by 100 yrs of warfare among daimyos

Tokugawa - Foreign Influence

• Closed Japan to foreign influence
• Banned Christianity
• 300,000 Christians in Japan
• Shimabara Rebellion (1637-38)
• Christians were executed

Tokugawa - Foreign Influence

• Dominant faith was Confucianism
• Emphasis on loyalty and duty
• Banned trade with Western nations
• Prevented Japanese from trading abroad
• Act of Seclusion (1636)

Tokugawa - Foreign Influence

• Japan was effectively cut off from West
• Except for a small Dutch outpost in Nagasaki
• Close relations with China and Korea

Tokugawa - Society

• social classes: samurai, artisans, farmers & merchants
• Mobility between the classes are prohibited
• W/ peace restored, many samurai became bureaucrats
• Peasants (80% of Japan) worked in agriculture only

Tokugawa - Society

• Economy grew significantly
• Emphasis on agriculture (rice, sesame oil, cotton)
• Commerce and manufacturing also expanded
• Rise of incresasing wealthy merchant class
• Growth in cities: Kyoto, Osaka and Edo

QUIZ

1. What are the major characteristics of the Tokugawa period?

2. Where is the capital of the Tokugawa period and what is it called today?

3. What precedes and succeeds the Tokugawa period?

4. What happened to Christianity/Christians during this period?

5. How did Japan react to foreign influence during this period?

6. What is the Act of Seclusion?

7. What is the Act of Seclusion?

8. What were the exceptions in Japan's Act of Seclusion?

9. What were the development in Japan's society during this period?

10. What were the development in Japan's economy during this period?

Tokugawa-Ukiyo

• Peace & relative prosperity
• Life seemed peaceful & unchanging
• Created a "floating world"
• Urban samurai, wealthy merchants & geisha
• A world of pleasure, escape & entertainment

Tokugawa - Americans

• 1853-Commodore Matthew Perry
• Black ships arrived in Edo bay
• Current shogun (Ieyoshi) died right after
• Shogun's son, Iesada, took position
• Iesada signed the Convention of Kanagawa

Tokugawa - Kanagawa Convention

• Provision of 3 Japanese ports to Americans
• Provision to treat ship-wrecked American sailors
• Did not cause immediate fall of the shogunate
• Other western countries followed
• Marked the beginning of the end of Tokugawa

Tokugawa - Its FALL

• Foreign people, ideas & money 1850s-1860s
• Emperor Komei issued an "Order to Expel Barbarians" 1863
• But it was too late and it did not stop foreign warships
• Anti-western daimyos blamed the Tokugawa shogunate
• Japan began adopting modern military technologies

Tokugawa - Its FALL

• 1867 Shogun Yoshinobu, last shogun, resigned
• Shogun position was abolished
• Southern Daimyo of Choshu & Satsuma-Boshin War
• Boshin War (1867-1869)
• Tokugawa Shogunate vs Imperial Rebels

What factors contributed to the fall of the Tokugawa period?

The Meiji Restoration

The Reign of the Meiji Emperor

• Meiji Emperor=head of Japan
• Restored in 1868
• Mitsuhito-1st Meiji Emperor
• Japan felt threatened by Western power
• The Emperor should be the center of political power

The Reign of the Meiji Emperor

• The emperor & his advisors refashioned Japan
• Into a powerful modern nation
• Abolished the 4-tiered class structure
• The samurais were replaced by Westernized army
• Universal education for boys and girls

The Reign of the Meiji Emperor

• Improvement of manufacturing
• Especially in heavy machineries and weapons
• 1889: Meiji Constitution (Constitutional Monarchy)
• Seized control of Korea
• Defeated Qing China in the Sino-Japanese War 1894-95

The Reign of the Meiji Emperor

• Defeated the Tsar's navy & army
• During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05
• Caused a lot of trauma and social dislocation in Japan
• Became one of the most powerful countries
• in the world in 1900s

Categorize the developments in Japan during the Meiji Restoration
(socio-cultural, political & economic).

QUIZ

1. Describe the Ukiyo.

2. Describe the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in Japan.

3. What is the Kanagawa Convention?

4. What are the effects of the Kanagawa Convention?

5. How did the Tokugawa Period fall?

6. Who is the head of Japan during the Meiji Period & why is he the head of state?

7. What were the economic developments in the Meiji Restoration?

8. What were the socio-cultural developments in the Meiji Restoration?

9. What were the political developments in the Meiji Restoration?

10. Explain 1 development in Japan during the Meiji Restoration and describe how it may have influenced Japan today.